Google Tasks has been around since 2008, but just this year was moved from Google Labs to mainstream Google accounts—Google's signal that it's ready for prime time. You can access Google Tasks from your Gmail, Google Calendar, and iGoogle interface, as well as from an interface optimized for mobile phones. Google Tasks is a very simple to-do list manager, limited to task lists, sub-tasks, and shuttling tasks from your task list to your Google Calendar. If you're already relying on Gmail for your email and Google Calendar for your scheduling needs, it's an easy step to start using Google Tasks.

Paper

Technology will change a lot in the next twenty years, but one thing's certain: If we asked our future selves what they're managing their lists with, pen and paper will still rank high on the list of the most popular responses. All the fancy software-based bells and whistles, wireless syncing, and location-aware alerts can't replace the simple tactile pleasure of writing something down and then firmly crossing it off when the task is complete. A paper-based to-do list might lack a quick search and tag-based organization, but it never crashes, runs out of batteries, or fails to update because you've got a bad data connection. Whether for the hands-on satisfaction of striking an item off the list with a nice thick line of ink or the reliability of using an analog system, paper remains a loved to-do list tool.

Remember The Milk (RTM) is a veritable Swiss Army knife of to-do list management. You can access your lists from the web, from your iPhone, Android, or Blackberry device, using third-party desktop clients, or any other web-enabled smartphone with the mobile interface. You can email and text in entries to your RTM address, which is really handy for things like shopping lists where multiple people will be contributing to the list. RTM also has location-based tasks. You can, for example, flag errands located near your office so that you're only reminded of them when you've commuted into work and are near them.

Things is as polished and pretty as you'd expect the single Mac-only entry in today's Hive Five to be. Things makes it easy to stay on top of your tasks. It integrates with iCal for seamless scheduling, sports a custom dock badge to notify you of impending tasks, syncs with the $10 Things iPhone app, and works with Spotlight for lightning fast searching. You can group your tasks by projects, by area of responsibility—a sort of super-charged contexts—and heavily tag everything to make sorting and filtering a snap. Things isn't an impulse purchase at $49.95, but if you're heavily invested in your Mac and wanted a to-do list manager that meshes well with your Mac-based workflow, it's a sound investment.

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If Remember The Milk aims to dazzle you with multiple methods of inputting tasks, Toodledo aims to dazzle you with an astronomical number of features and settings compared to any other task manager out there. You can search your task history, set deadlines, establish and track goals, update your task list by email, text message, instant message, via its browser extension, and more. You can import your existing task list from Outlook, Remember the Milk, and iCal, among others. You can customize the interface to look how you want (or select from one of their many templates to try out a new look without all the sweating over layouts). You can even print off your tasks on a single sheet that folds down into a pocket-sized notebook for those times you really want to take your tasks with you in analog form. Toodledo comes in three flavors: Free, Pro (which adds subtasks, stats about your tasks, and automatic scheduling), and Pro Plus (everything plus file uploads).

Now that you've had a chance to look over the five most popular to-do list managers among Lifehacker readers, it's time to cast a vote for your favorite:

Have a to-do list manager you didn't see here but want to give a nod? Let's hear about it in the comments. Have an idea for the next Hive Five? Send us an email at tips@lifehacker.com with "Hive Five" in the subject line and we'll do our best to get your idea the attention it deserves.